The Better living with herbs and natural health
July’ 2015
Soul Soothing Words Create an Herbal First Aid Kid Lemon Balm for Anxiety Lower High Blood Cholesterol Looking After Herbs in Summer
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Stay Safe for a Healthy Summer
I
t’s turning into a hot, hot summer. At least here on the Publisher’s Note west coast. Summer can often bring out the best and the worst in terms of health. When we’re feeling healthy, we enjoy summer activities to the fullest. When we’re not feeling so good is when negative health impacts our enjoyment of summer. In this issue we look at things that can crop up in summer that impact on our health. An interview with holistic health RN Paula Youmell on her new book Morning Coffee and Donuts, highlights how people often sabotage their attempts to get healthy and what they can do about it. Summer heat can often make sleeping difficult so we look at way to address that by using herbs and essential oils. When you don’t have enough sleep, you become irritable and have difficulty concentrating and performing daily tasks. Exposing our skin and getting sunburns can also make summer less enjoyable, so it’s great to know that you can look after these concerns with herbal products. It’s important to stay hydrated and eat healthy so
your body can recuperate properly. Then there are the annoying insect bites and stings from wasps, mosquitoes, spiders and/or ticks. While they don’t present a big health challenge unless you are allergic, they can make life less pleasant and more stressful. This issue provides you with ways to prevent those bites as well as how you can deal with it and recover quickly from an annoying bite. Summer activities can often lead to cuts, sprains, bruises and bumps. Again, herbs come to the rescue with a wonderful way to help us heal quickly. The article on making an Herbal First Aid Kit is a great way to have everything handy to take care of those things in summer. Finally, high blood pressure and high cholesterol can raise concerns in the summer. Homeopathic expert Colin Gillies provides important information on cholesterol and how to control high cholesterol. Enjoy this issue and enjoy summer!
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Contents The Theme: Summer can bring bug bites, sunburn plus aches and sprains. Herbs to the rescue!
Columns and Departments
In the Kitchen Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad.............................11 Essential oils forsummer health.......................6 Raspberry Ice Tea................................................11 Lemon balm for anxiety, restlessness............7 Create an Herbal First Aid Kit............................8 Essential Oils Essential oils for summer health......................6 Features Soul Soothing Words...........................................4 Shelby’s Words of Wisdom.................................5 Lemon Balm for Anxiety, Restlessness...........7 Create an Herbal first aid kit..............................8 How to lower blood cholesterol....................12
The Herbal Collective published by Pro Write Publishing Publisher/Editor - Marilyn Zink Contact: 250-722-7108, 1796 Alice Rd., Nanaimo, B.C., V9X 1V5 info@herbalcollective.ca, www.herbalcollective.ca Advertising Sales: Call: 250-722-7108 Contributors Carola Schleuss, , Colin Gillies,
The Herbal Collective is published every second month by Pro Write Publishing and distributed through health food stores, book stores, restaurants, gardening centers, natural practitioners, drugs stores and other locations that endorse a healthy and environmentally sound approach.Advertising deadline is around the 15th of every second month. Subscriptions are $20.95 a year. The opinions expressed by contributing writers are not necessarily those of the editor. Different viewpoints are welcome. All editorial material is copyrighted. Any medical advice is given solely for information purposes only and no responsibility is assumed on the publisher’s part. Copyright © 2012
Please Support Our Advertising Sponsors Colin Gillies, homeopath............................................................8 Natural Balance, www.naturalbalance.ca.........................7,9 Doug Kuramoto, Pacific Holistic..............................................9 Paula Youmell, www.paulayoumellrn.com..........................5
People Profile
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Soul Soothing Words
n a world where coffee and donuts are a regular part
“People tell me it does help them,” she says. “A lot of people can’t get past the blockages that prevent them from making lifestyle changes. People have to find their own path to healing, all you can do is guide them.” She admits that it can be frustrating for her because “it seems obvious to me. You can hand them everything on a silver platter yet if it doesn’t connect with them, it doesn’t go anywhere.”
of people’s lives, an
author has found a way to guide people to a healthier way of life. In her new book, Early Morning Coffee and Donutes = For Tending Body, Mind & Soul, author Paula Youmell has crafted a healthier way of life and given people the guidelines they need to follow.
Paula Youmell with her new book Morning Coffee and lives. Donuts. Photo contributed
“It’s all about soul soothing stuff,” she says. Don’t let the title fool you – but Youmell explains why she named a health guide this strange title. “I know in the morning most people find coffee soothing, it’s a morning ritual,” she says. “My dad has coffee and donuts every day.” Plus she also spent time making donuts with family members like her mom and sister (check). Youmell says the book offers lifestyle changes to help people heal from symptoms of disease and poor health. As a holistic RN health coach, Youmell says people would tell her they found it really hard to stick with lifestyle changes, despite their best intentions. Mindfulness practices like doing yoga every day have helped Youmell stay clear and focused on her intentions for healthy living. So she decided to give her clients a ‘cyber hug’ every Monday and Friday with positive statements to guide them to better health. 4
Herbal Collective July, 15
This happens despite great health challenges In people’s
“I’ve worked with people who’ve had multiple crisisis in their lives yet they still don’t make the changes. What has to happen for them to make that change,” she asked. Youmell says when people focus on what they’re getting instead of what they’re giving up, they are often able to move forward to make healthier choices. “Again, it’s things people have to come to in their own way,” she says. To write her book, Youmell saved her Monday and Friday inspirational emails that she sent to clients and picked 52 of the best ones. She hopes that the result is that it will make an impact in people’s lives. “If you’re going to read them every day, you’ll be a different person.” It’s a mind, a spirit, a heart change. They all have to shift and reset. This to me is like word yoga.” To get the book, visit www.paulayoumellrn.com
Shelby’s Words of Wisdom Excerpt from Early Morning Coffee and Donuts Shelby Connelly provides insights with her foreward to Paula Youmell’s new book
W
hat would my life look like if I could start each day with a warm fresh cup of good intentions and a tasty delicious bite of positive attitude? This would be my intention that would inspire, enlighten, and, encourage me to begin my day with a sense of empowerment. Every day I'm faced with decisions about what to eat, say, do, and focus on. Overwhelm can hit me before I open my eyes to greet the day. The buzzing of the alarm clock can open the gates for negative self-talk, to-do lists, and the dread the days chores. As I feel the warm water of the shower I start to visualize how I'm going to incorporate the things I love into the work of the day. Can I squeeze the walk in and around my lunch hour? Perhaps I can take the 20 minutes I wanted to mediate and do it sitting in my car before going into the grocery store. What is in the fridge that resembles a vegetable and can I make it taste good enough to call it dinner for my whole family. Does this sound familiar? Well, it is not my every day but it does happen more than I would like. I find that I can be more inspiring to patients than I can be to my own self. I can easily get stuck in the have-tos and the musts that I lose track of the passion that inspires me, passion for healing and whole-body wellness. I love the excitement I feel when a patient has a physical or emotional break through. How can I meet myself in the treatment room for coaching on my own life? How will I live the teachings I serve to my patients. I also search for the straight talk, the humor, and the reminding of what I already know about being truly well. In your hands, you hold the secret to where I get those daily treatments and teachings. Paula Youmell
offers, yet again, the inspiration to keep you and me illuminated to what is best for our body, mind, and soul. As we begin each morning with a passage, we can start to fill our day with sincere effort, eagerness, and laughter. While some are short and to the point, others will have us contemplating our life's direction. Paula's unique voice will give us the first healthy bite into our day. So, dear reader, let us enjoy our coffee and donuts together. Let's nurture our organic, natural selves with this morning ritual so we can delve into our own personal power. Power to use our creativity and find clarity of our life's purpose. Yum!
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Essential Oils for
Summer Health
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ssential oils are perfect for summer health care and scents. Here’s why –they’re useful for but bites, bruises, sprains, sunburns and other ailments associated with summer. Plus they’re easy to transport, can be added to a variety of bases to make creams, lotions, salves and vinegars. There are some top essential oils that make dealing with summer concerns a breeze. These include peppermint, lavender, tea tree and lemon grass.
Peppermint
Lemongrass This essential oil has a wonderful lemony scent that can help keep bugs away. Use it in a spray in distilled water on on its own or experiment with your own buy spray making a blend with oils such as lavender, peppermint, basil, etc. Blend with 1-2 tbsp. of witch hazel in 8 ounces of purified or distilled water.
This essential oil is cooling, and stimulating so it works great to soothe inflammation, sunburns, itchiness from bug bites or rashes and soothe sore feet. Roman Chamomile Blend 4-5 drops in a base cream or lotion and This essential oil has a warm sweet scent that is massage onto feet, sunburned skin or irritated area. calming and relaxing for the body and mind. It’s a Peppermint is stimulating so it’s best to avoid using it in the evening, Use for headache relief or gentle oil that is particularly valuable for children massage on temples to stimulate your mind to stay who are restless and can’t calm down. The oil is soothing for skin irritation and is used alert during travel. extensively in Europe for skin preparations. It can be added to a base massage oil to relieve sore Lavender muscles after exercise. This calming oil has a wonderful fresh clean Roman chamomile is anti-infectious, antiscent and many uses for summer ailments. inflammatory, anti-parasitic in addition to being It can be applied neat (directly on the skin) to calming and relaxing. treat sunburns as well as bug bites, acne, bruises and sprains. Tea Tree Apply several drops to a sleep pillow to aid inThis essential oil is an excellent anti-fungal that somnia on those hot summer nights. is useful for treating athlete’s foot, infections in Lavender oil is safe to use for children and can the nail bed, acne and other breakouts. It is also help fussy babies to calm down for a nap. Do not use on children under 2 years old without an anti-microbial, antiseptic, anti-bacterial and antiviral. Tea tree is used for skin irritations, acne, the advice of a physician or natural health practiinsect bites, cold sores, itching, warts, sores and tioner. sinusitis. www.mydoterra.com/marilynsessentials 6
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July’15
Lemon Balm for Anxiety, Restlessness
Herb of the Month
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emon Balm (Melissa officinalis) is a wonderful herb to grow in the garden and attracts bees with its scent. The herb is also known as Melissa, which is the Greek word for honeybee. The name Balm is abbreviated from Balsam, which is the sweet-smelling aroma of the herb when fresh. Lemon Balm has been a medicinal herb for a long time and was thought to be a tonic for cases of anxiety and depression. It has been used in herbal wines and is one of the ingredients in liquers such as Benedictine.
Growing Lemon Balm is from the mint family and is native to the eastern Mediterranean region. It grows easily from seed sown in the spring or from cuttings or divided roots. The plant likes welldrained soil with a neutral ph. It prefers some partial shade and has a light lemon scents that loses some aroma if it is in full sun. Harvest before the small white two-lipped flowers bloom in summer, particularly for medicinal use. The leaves can be dried but the plant loses much of its fragrance. The fresh or dried leaves can be used to make tea.
Historical use Lemon Balm has a long healing history going back to ancient Greece. The ancient Greek physician Dioscorides is said to have applied lemon balm leaves to skin wounds and added it to wine. Arab doctors recommended lemon balm for nervousness and anxiety. The medieval Europeans also used it in the same way. European herbalists started prescribing it for just about everything and before long it was referred to as a cure-all.
Medicinal The herb has a light lemon scent and is useful medicinal for soothing the stomach, as a sedative, antispasmodic, nervous anxiety, headache and insomnia. German researchers discovered that balm relaxes the smooth muscles of the digestive tract making it good for nausea, indigestion and flatulence. Balm has also been caused for women’s menstrual complaints however pregnant women should not take the herb. The dried herb has been added to potpourris, herb pillows, and herb mixtures for aromatic baths and cosmetic waters.
Uses The fresh or dried leaves of lemon balm can be brewed to make an infusion or tea. Use two tsp. of leaves per cut and steep for 10-20 minutes, then strain. It is nice combined with spearmint or peppermint. Tie a handful of balm into cheesecloth and run bathwater over it to create a relaxing bath. Minor cuts can be treated with fresh lemon balm leaves and applied directly to the wound. Other wonds or sores can be treated with a hot compress made by using two teaspoons of leaves per cut of water. Boil for 10 minutes, strain and apply with a clean cloth. Herbal Collective
July,’15
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Create an Herbal First Aid Kit for Summer
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ummer is the season for cuts, sprains, bug bites, sunburns and other ailments. Creating an herbal first aid kit to have handy can make a big difference in how quickly and easily you can solve health issues that crop up in the summer. The ingredients in the kit can be modified to meet your requirements, as families will have different needs than a single or elderly person.
Essential Oils Essential oils are an important part of summer as they can be used independently or added to a base to make a gel, cream, lotion or salve or other product. The most commont and best essential oils to use in summer include peppermint, lavender, Tea Tree (Melaleuca) . Other essential oils
Herbs Ginger – taken in a capsule or tea, ginger is great for stomach and digestive upsets, nausea, motion sickness and morning sickness. 8
Herbal Collective July’15
Cayenne Tthe powder helps stop bleeding rapidly. Capsules taken internally during illness increases blood flow and speeds recovery.
Chamomile Taken as a tea or tincture, it helps relax and calm the body. Great for children, the dried flowers can also be made into a poultice with gauze an placed on an eye for 15 minutes every hour to reverse pinkeye.
Plantain This herb grows freely in most places and is a natural remedy for poison ivy, cuts, scrapes and bites. The chewed leaf applied to a bee sting can immediately relieve the pain.
Other Supplies Aloe vera gel Cooling and healing, it is good for soothing sunburns and accidental kitchen scalds.
Arnica Gel or Cream Arnice is an homeopathic remedy made from flowers which is excellent for sprains, strained and sore muscles and bruises. It should not be applied to broken skin.
Baking Soda A good remedy for heartburn or urinary tract infections. Take Âź tsp. internally to alleviate ailments. Topically it can be made into a poultice and used on spider bites.
Beeswax While not a healing remedy, beeswax makes a great base for essential oils and other ingredients to make a healing salve. The beeswax is easily melted to incorporate ingredients. Adding ingredients such as shea butter, coconut oil or rosewater and glycerin can make a nice lotion or cream.
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Coconut Oil Good for massaging on sunburned or dry skin, chapped lips and makes a great base for essential oils. Consuming ¼ cup daily, particularly in a smoothie, helps protect against Alzheimer’s and nourishes the thyroid.
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Oatmeal Itt is a soothing bath for itching, irritated skin, especially when combined with essential oils like peppermint and lavender. Oatmeal and water can be mixed into a poultice with essential oils like tea tree applied to the skin to soothe uncomfortable rashes. Oats are also rich in calcium and magnesium, making them very nutritious as an herbal aid.
Witch Hazel Extract Distilled witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a mild astringent, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. It is great for insect bites and irritations. It is also an excellent way to dilute essential oils such as peppermint for a simple topical first-aid remedy. Witch hazel is available in drug stores. It’s also good for toning skin.
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Herb Gardening
Looking after Herbs in Summer After the herbs have had a good watering, plan to harvest them in the morning soon after the dew has dried.
Perennial Herbs Perennial herbs can be harvested first – these include the parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and oregano varieties. Trim about 1/3 of the plant during the growing season. Pruning the herbs is good as it will encourage new growth and another harvest.
Annual Herbs Leafy annual herbs such as basil can be harvested regularly throughout the growing season.Trim the top leaves and trim any flowers as soon as they start. This will encourage the plant to produce more leaves.
S
ummer is a great time in the herb garden. Everything is growing vigorously and it’s a great time to harvest herbs. The first thing to do is to determine which herbs need to be harvested. Herbs used for culinary or medicinal purposes should be harvested before they start to flower. First give the herbs a good watering and check for signs that herbs are experiencing any heat stress from the summer sun. Look for brown or withered leaves and trim accordingly. After giving the plants a good watering, you will want to check if the soil needs a top dressing of either fresh soil or a combination of fresh soil such as a good potting soil and manure. Alternatively, herbs can be fertilized with a commercial liquid fertilizer. An herbal fertilizer can also be made by growing comfrey and then soaking the comfrey leaves in a large container with enough water to cover the leaves. Cover the container and allow it to ‘steep’ for a week or two. Then strain and use accordingly. Obviously as this takes a little more time, it’s a good idea to plan ahead.
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Seed Bearing Herbs Herbs that produce seeds such as dill, cilantro and anise seeds need to be harvested when the leaves turn plump and brown. As cilantro is a leafy herb, the seeds that turn brown are coriander. Once it has gone to seed, it does not produce any more leaves.
Flowering Herbs These include herbs like lavender, catmint, Echinacea and many others. It’s best to harvest flowering herbs soon after blooming while the flowers are still in a fairly tight bud. The flowers will continue to open as the herb dries and provide a wonderful aroma or beauty to enjoy. Sometime flowering herbs will have a second harvest but generally it’s not the case for herbs like lavender which only bloom in June. The exception to that is the Spanish Lavender which has ‘bunny ear’ type petals that bloom all summer. Once the herbs have been harvested, hang them to dry for a week or two. When they are brittle to the touch, the leaves can be stripped off and put in containers. Alternatively, you can also make herbal infusions, vinegars and oils with the fresh herbs or freeze them in a small amount of water for herbal ice cubes.
Got a Recipe to Contribute? Email info@herbalcollective.ca
Raspberry Iced Tea
Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad ¾ cup uncooked quinoa 1-2 cups shredded cabbage 1 red bell pepper, diced ½ sweet onion, diced ¼ cup diced chives ½ cup cashew halves or peanuts Dressing ¼ cup all natural peanut butter 1 tbsp. fresh lime 2 tsp. freshly grated ginger 3 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 tbsp. honey or sugar free syrup 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar 2 tsp. olive oil Instructions To cook quinoa, rinse with cold water in a mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all the water. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool. Cooked amount equal 2 cups.
Makes: About 6 (1 cup) servings 4 cups cold water (divided) 1/4 cup sugar, or to taste 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, plus a few for garnish 2 lemon slices 2 cups lemon balm leaves Place 3 cups of the water in a pot along with the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and pour boiling water over freshly washed lemon balm leaves. Steep 5 minutes or up to 10 minutes. Place the raspberries and remaining 1 cup of water in another pot. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into the pot with the tea mixture. Press the raspberries with the back of a ladle to extract as much juice out of the berries as you can. Cool to room temperature. Transfer to a serving jug and store in the fridge until needed. To serve, place 4 or 5 ice cubes in a glass. Drop in a few whole raspberries; garnish the rim of the glass with a 1/2 lemon slice. Pour in the tea and serve. Herbal Collective
July,’15
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How to Lower High Blood Cholesterol By Colin Gillies n the previous issue of Herbal Collective I • Cholesterol is required to looked at the fairly common diagnosis of build and maintain cell membranes to hypertension (high blood pressure) focusing on help control what can enter and exit cells. its relationship to body dehydration. • Cholesterol is the body’s repair substance: In this issue I want to deal with another common scar tissue contains high levels of cholesterol, indiagnosis – that is the diagnosis of high blood chocluding scar tissue in the arteries. lesterol. • Cholesterol is the precursor to vitamin D, Like high blood pressure, high cholesterol can be necessary for numerous biochemical processes inlooked at as a symptom of dehydration. It is estimat- cluding mineral metabolism. ed that in the USA, for example, 75% of people are • The bile salts, required for the digestion of considered to be suffering from the effects of inadfat, are made of cholesterol. equate hydration. • Cholesterol “High blood cholesterol is a sign that the cells of So what is cholesmay also protect the body have developed a defense mechanism....” terol? It is a lipid with us against cancer many functions and as low cholesterol is made in the body levels are associated mainly in the liver. It is also in some foods we eat. with increased rates of cancer. We have all heard about so called ‘good cholesterol’ • Cholesterol is vital to proper neurologiand ‘bad cholesterol’ and the links to atherosclerosis cal function. It plays a key role in the formation of and heart disease. memory and the uptake of hormones in the brain, Some of cholesterol’s functions are: including serotonin, the body’s feel-good chemical. • Cholesterol is a major component of the brain, much of it in the myelin sheaths that insulate Colin J. Gillies, Homeopath nerve cells and in the synapses that transmit nerve Adv. Dip. Hom, MBCSH, MAHA, AROH Regd. impulses. • Some researchers believe that cholesterol Homeopaths see health as a state of opƟmal physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence acts as an antioxidant. As an antioxidant, cholesterol of disease or infirmity. By treaƟng each person as an protects us against free radical damage that leads to individual, homeopathy can help with all kinds of ailheart disease and cancer. ments or condiƟons. • Finally, cholesterol is the precursor to all the Some examples are: hormones produced in the adrenal cortex including •Acute and childhood diseases •ArthriƟc condiƟons glucocorticoids, which regulate blood sugar levels, •Asthma and Respiratory disease and mineralocorticoids, which regulate mineral bal•Autoimmune disease -Chronic ance. FaƟgue syndrome Corticoids are the cholesterol-based adrenal •DigesƟve complaints hormones that the body uses in response to stress •Hormonal issues •Mental and EmoƟonal distress of various types; they promote healing and balance •Neurological disease - Headache and AuƟsm the tendency to inflammation. The adrenal cortex •Skin complaints Call Colin also produces sex hormones, including testosterone, •Sleeping problems estrogen and progesterone, out of cholesterol. 250-947-0288 •Urinary complaints Thus, low cholesterol – whether due to an innate 12-221 2nd Avenue W, Qualicum Beach BC
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Herbal Collective July’15
error of metabolism or induced by cholesterol-lowering diets and drugs – can be expected to disrupt the production of adrenal hormones and lead to blood sugar problems, edema, mineral deficiencies, chronic inflammation, difficulty in healing, allergies, asthma, reduced libido, infertility and various reproductive problems. The human body is composed of around 25% solid matter and 75% water. Brain tissue is said to consist of 85% water. When the body does not have enough water to carry out all its functions it begins to ration available water to the more important organs at the expense of less important organs such as the skin. Typically, around 65% of this water is taken from inside of affected cells. Cholesterol is a natural ‘clay’ that, when deposited in the cell membrane, makes the cell wall impervious to the passage of water. Its excessive manufacture and deposition in the cell membrane is part of the natural design for the protection of living cells against dehydration. The cholesterol is transported in the blood from the liver where most cholesterol is made. High blood cholesterol is a sign that the cells of the body have developed a defense mechanism against the osmotic force of the blood that keeps drawing water out through the cell membranes (to support rationing), or the concentrated blood cannot release sufficient water to go through the cell membrane and maintain normal cell functions. If cellular dehydration is not addressed then over
time the cholesterol coating thickens and interferes with the transfer of substances like nutrients from entering cells and metabolic waste from exiting cells thus disrupting normal cell metabolism. The main medical treatment for high blood cholesterol is the administration of Statin drugs. What statins do is to inhibit an enzyme that controls cholesterol production in the liver. As a result, cholesterol in the blood goes down as production in the liver goes down. High blood cholesterol has been linked to higher risk of atherosclerosis (plaque in arteries) but this is disputed in some recent research. Okuyama H, et al; present a perspective that statins may be causative in coronary artery calcification and can impair muscle function in the heart and blood vessels. Other studies have shown that animal fats rather than causing heart disease are actually protective. There is little support for the benefit of taking statins where there is no evidence of heart disease. Statins, especially taken over a long period of time, can have significant side effects. If dehydration is a cause of the body’s need to make and transport additional cholesterol for use in cell membranes this may be a reason for blood tests measuring high cholesterol. The first treatment should be to address the cells need to prevent water loss by ensuring adequate hydration. It seems that to introduce a statin to reduce cholesterol without addressing the cause is just introducing another dis-ease state in the body. It also runs the risk of reducing cholesterol to the point it interferes with the many functions of cholesterol as outlined above. Colin Gillies is an homeopath in Qualicum Beach.
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The Better living with herbs and natural health
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Spring into Herb Gardening Herbs to Lift Depression Benefits of Licorice Make Herbal Medicine Lou Corona Visits the West
Better living with herbs and natural health
Dec/Jan 2013
Remedies for Colds and Flu Christmas Herbs & Spices Ayurveda with Yogi Cameron Managing Heartburn with Herbs
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